460 Days of Nuclear Plant Shutdown Due to Earthquakes and Typhoons... Concentrated on the East Coast

In the past decade, the number of days nuclear power plants have been shut down due to earthquakes or typhoons has reached approximately 460 days.

According to data submitted by Korea Hydro & Nuclear Power to Jeong Cheong-rae, a member of the Democratic Party of Korea, the total number of days nuclear power plants were stopped due to natural disasters such as localized heavy rain, typhoons, and earthquakes over the past 10 years is 461.1 days.

The appearance of Gori Nuclear Power Plant Units 3 and 4 / Photo by Gori Nuclear Power Headquarters website

Wolseong Unit 3, located in Gyeongju, Gyeongbuk, had the longest downtime at 104.4 days, followed by Wolseong Unit 2 in Gyeongju at 92.4 days, and Wolseong Unit 1 at 86.5 days.

The nuclear power plants that were shut down due to natural disasters are concentrated along the East Coast sea areas, including Gyeongju in Gyeongbuk and Gijang County in Busan.

There are five active fault lines capable of causing strong earthquakes of magnitude 6.5 or higher around the Kori and Wolseong nuclear power plants. From April to June alone, 232 earthquakes occurred along the East Coast, indicating frequent seismic activity centered in the East Coast region, which calls for greater efforts in safety management, Jeong pointed out.

Jeong emphasized, "As seen in the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan, the risk of nuclear accidents caused by natural disasters is always latent," adding, "Although the plants are designed to withstand earthquakes of magnitude 7.0, continuous efforts for nuclear safety inspections and seismic reinforcement to prevent nuclear accidents, as well as proactive government policies to secure new energy sources, are necessary."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.